A communicator’s work can be rewarding and exhausting, fulfilling and demoralizing, full of accolades or the hollow sound of silence. There are times I sit in front of my screen thinking:
No one is going to read this. Why write?
I recently heard this from my pastor and it stuck with me:
“Giftedness leads to outcomes.
Faithfulness leads to fruitfulness.”
Am I looking for specific outcomes?
Comments, shares, book sales, speaking gigs, submissions accepted, book contracts offered and signed.
Or am I looking for fruit?
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Am I depending on my giftedness to achieve what I think I want?
Or am I choosing to be faithful and trust that I will see fruit?
The fruit can come in two ways:
In my own heart.
And in the people who might read or hear what I share.
I might be able to orchestrate some outcomes.
But fruit?
That is out of my control completely and it can’t be quantified.
But when I see evidence of fruit?
It blows me away.
Have you ever written something and it seems it was actually for you?
It challenged you to pursue joy or gentleness?
That’s fruit.
Has someone said to you,
“Your words really made me stop and think about my choices.”
That’s fruit.
Have you received an email that said:
It was like you reached into my heart and knew exactly what I needed to hear.
That’s fruit.
We may get the outcomes we desire and we may not.
However, I can’t trust in outcomes, no matter how low or high the numbers might be.
And the truth is, many times we are simply the sower of seeds —
we don’t always get to see the fruit.
So what’s a communicator to do?
Be faithful.
Keep writing.
Keep speaking.
Let go of the outcome.
In the spirit of encouragement here is free download from Bethany. Post this where it might encourage your heart and your work. Bethany would love to see a picture of your workspace if you choose to display the download. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fuelforjoy/or on Instagram @bethany_kindle_it.
Bethany Howard lives in Tucker, Georgia, with her family. She savors chocolate, the perfect sentence and tickling her kids. She doesn’t love baking, cleaning or organizing. She keeps it real with her posts at bethanyhoward.com and considers every opportunity to communicate hope and encouragement to be both a responsibility and blessing. If you are ever in the Atlanta area, she would love to chat over coffee.
Oh Bethany. Thank you for this. This did indeed speak straight to my discouraged heart. I have been so discouraged with not seeing outcomes. Thank you for the encouragement to write and pursue opportunities to speak anyway. I needed your words today in a huge way.
God is so good. He knows exactly what I need to read, and He drops those words into my inbox at just the right moment! Bethany, this is a powerful truth that spoke volumes to me today. I am going to remember “outcome vs. fruitfulness”. I have an outcome-driven personality, and if I’m not careful I can let that be a measure by which I determine whether or not I should keep writing, speaking, etc. Oh, but fruitfulness? That’s long-lasting. Wow! Thank you so much for this. <3
Love love this! Very true. Thanks for the reminder as I head into another “goal oriented” year.
Thank you for this distinction between outcomes and fruitfulness. Your post took my mind to Luke 8, and as I reread the parable of the sower, I was reminded that the seeds we sow won’t always fall on good soil. But the ones that do, will produce fruit . . . and not a little!
Hi Rose!
It is so important for me to stop and remember that there is a distinction between outcomes and fruit. Yes, Luke 8 is a powerful reminder of our role in our work – we sow the seeds! That’s it! We have to be faithful to the work God has given us and let go of what happens next. May you continue to be encouraged in your work as a communicator.